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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26063854">Seasons of love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawninlatin/pseuds/Dawninlatin'>Dawninlatin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Manon has a crush, One Shot, slightly angsty, wow i am so gay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:46:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26063854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawninlatin/pseuds/Dawninlatin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Manon spends her mornings alone in the botanical garden, drawing flowers. One day, a beautiful woman begins coming there too, so Manon starts drawing her instead...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Manon Blackbeak/Elide Lochan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Seasons of love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>To everyone who follows me for my Manorian content, don't worry, still trash, just also very bisexual and unable to choose between my two favourite ships&lt;3 (a new fic in the Teacher AU is in the works...)</p><p>To everyone else, I have no idea what this is but I'm gay and sad so here you go:)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Spring had always been the season of hope and light and happiness, but where Manon sat, surrounded by plants slowly coming back to life after the long winter, she thought it was the opposite. Nothing about her life was hopeful, or light, or happy.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had been coming to the botanical garden for a while now. It had become a routine, sitting there for an hour every day before work, drawing the various flowers in her sketchbook, enjoying the quiet break from the bustling city around her.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For too long, this had been the only place where she felt like she could truly breathe. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Work was more stressful than ever. Manon loved her job as a lawyer, but working at her grandmother’s law firm, she always had to be at the top of her game, and it was becoming more and more exhausting for every day.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then there was her home, or should she say lack of it? It had been two months since she ended things with her fiancé and moved into the small studio apartment. She was supposed to love it, the solitude, the peace and quiet, yet it was just a reminder of how <em>alone </em>she was.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It surprised her, the longing for someone to share her life with. Manon usually hated other people, or so she’d thought. Too often, she found herself craving someone to talk about her day with, someone to make her laugh, someone to hold her when the nights got dark and cold.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The loneliness was one of many things she had learned about herself in the past six months. Ever since she’d voiced the life-changing realization to the man who was supposed to be the love of her life. <em>«I’m gay,» </em>she’d told him, the two words breaking his heart. Manon would never forget the image of hurt and betrayal in those blue eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And she did love him, just not in the way she was supposed to. Manon hoped he could find someone, one day, that loved him the way she loved women. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon sometimes found herself wishing she could have stayed with him. It certainly would have made things easier. Even if he wasn’t the love of her life, he was her best friend, and she missed him so much it hurt. But Manon also knew that in the end, all the lying, the pretending, it would have killed her. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This morning, the garden was unusually quiet, the only sound being the leaves rusting in the warm breeze. Manon was by herself, as usual, and she let herself breathe in the refreshing morning air. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Entering the garden always felt like entering some secret, hidden-away realm. How was it that no one knew, or cared about, this magical place filled with color and life? The contrast so clear from the rest of her life.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was a place where Manon could focus on simply being Manon. Not the lawyer, not the ex-fiancé, not the sad, lonely lesbian, just Manon.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Walking over to her usual bench, she sat down and began to sketch the various flowers surrounding her, letting herself get lost in the drawing, all worries forgotten.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When she finally looked up again, Manon had no idea whether minutes or hours had passed. She scanned her surroundings, and jumped slightly when she noticed she wasn’t alone anymore.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">On the other side of the garden, there was a young woman, her eyes closed, completely oblivious to the world around her.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Looking closer, Manon noticed a pair of earplugs connected to an old-school iPod. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She was the most beautiful sight Manon had ever beheld.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The look of bliss on her face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The dark hair tied in a loose braid.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The mouth forming the tiniest of smiles.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon couldn’t help herself as she began to trace the delicate lines of the woman’s face in her notebook, from the plump lips to the way her brow furrowed slightly in concentration. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">In that moment, Manon wished she was a poet, for there were no other way to truly immortalize her beauty. Her drawings most certainly didn’t do her justice, Manon unable to capture her graceful movements, or the way the sunlight made her pale skin glow slightly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But then, way too soon, her alarm went off, interrupting her drawing, and Manon had to gather up her things and rush off to work, back to her lonely, monotone everyday life.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As fall arrived, the leaves turning brown and red and yellow, Manon found herself wondering what the woman’s name was. Whatever it was, she was certain it was as beautiful as her.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The mystery woman was here almost every morning now, either listening to music, or reading a book, or simply sitting there with her eyes closed. Sometimes she would already be there by the time Manon arrived, and sometimes she would enter the garden just as Manon’s alarm signaled it was time for work.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had tried to work up the courage to talk to her, but failed every single time. What would she even say? <em>«Hi, you don’t know me but I’ve been staring at you every day for three months now. I think about you all the time, and honestly, seeing you is the only reason I get out of bed in the morning. Also my notebook is filled with drawings of you. Would you like to get a coffee with me?» </em></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was all very creepy, and was she sure the woman was even gay? Judging by the combat boots, the cuffed jeans, the flannel shirts, Manon would say yes, but one could never know.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon hated herself for being so afraid. She was used to being bold and confident, simply taking whatever she wanted. This uncertainty was brand new to her, and it was terrifying. And what if the woman didn’t want to talk to her? Maybe she came her to be alone, like Manon originally had?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was better to admire her from afar, Manon decided, beginning to trace that lovely face with her pencil once more.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She never drew flowers anymore, or trees, or animals. How could she, when all she could look at was that woman?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The first snow fell on the second day of December. Christmas decorations had slowly began to invade the city, and usually Manon loved this time of the year, loved all the blinking lights, loved all the warmth and compassion and <em>love. </em>But not this year.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This year, it was just another reminder of how alone she was.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon wondered if the mystery woman had a big family. She was always by herself, here in the garden, but who knew what life she lived outside these walls? What did she work with? Where did she live? Who did she love?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Looking at her, Manon couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight. She was smiling softly, reading some book, snowflakes landing in her hair before melting away into nothing. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was breathtaking. All of it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then the woman looked up, and Manon’s heart caught in her throat as their eyes met, the invisible string between them going taut. The woman’s smile widened, and Manon quickly looked away, feeling her face go red. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Had she caught her before? Had she known, all this time, how Manon would study her? </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon fumbled around for all her things, trying to gather them up so she could leave. Might as well head off to work early, before she made more of a fool of herself. She picked up her notebook, her pencil, her coffee, knocking over her bag in the process.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As it’s contents spilled out on the ground, Manon let out a frustrated groan, quickly picking up all her things and practically sprinting out the gate, keeping her head low. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She tried to stop the tears escaping from the corners of her eyes, but not even that could she do. There was no way Manon could build up the courage to talk to her now. It would only end in further humiliation.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Walking away from the garden, she tried to erase the image of that beautiful girl from her mind, knowing that from now on, she would never see her again. Her chest tightened at the mere thought of it, and-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«HEY!»</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Turning around, Manon let out a gasp as she suddenly faced the mystery girl. She was jogging towards her, holding something in her hand. As she waved it in the air, all blood disappeared from Manon’s face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">
    <em>Her notebook.</em>
  </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She must have left it at the bench in her hurry to leave. God, if she had opened it, if she had seen how every page was filled with her face…Manon willed herself to remain calm as the woman approached.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«I think you forgot this,» she said, smiling as she handed her the notebook. Her voice was lower, raspier, than what Manon had expected, and standing like this, Manon learned that the woman was in fact more than a head shorter than her.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With a shaking hand, Manon grabbed it, quickly stuffing it into her bag.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It didn’t look like the woman in front of her had recently discovered she had a stalker, and Manon’s breath calmed, her heart beating a little steadier. «Thank you,» she mumbled, looking down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«I’m Elide by the way.» </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">
    <em>Elide. </em>
  </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Of course her name was Elide,</em> Manon thought. Anything else wouldn’t have made sense.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The woman, Elide, stretched out her hand.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«I’m Manon,» she stuttered, returning the gesture. Manon was blushing like never before, she knew it, but there was no way to make the bright red color go away.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She studied Elide for a second, took in the amused look on her face, the way her eyes - which were so brown they were nearly black, by the way - gave her a knowing look.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«Say Manon, you wouldn’t be interested in grabbing a coffee, would you?»</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Had she fell and hit her head? Was she living through some crazy daydream?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Elide looked at her expectedly, and Manon tried to regain the ability to speak. «I-»</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«Letting me take you on a date is the least you could do after secretly drawing me for months.»</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Shit.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At least she didn’t sound angry, that was something. Instead, her voice sounded as if she was struggling to hold back laughter.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon tried to come up with an excuse, any reason as to why it would be perfectly normal and totally not creepy to draw Elide, but she had nothing. Instead, she asked, «You- You wanna go on a date with me?»</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had never been this nervous. Her whole body was shaking, and not because of the cold. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«I have wanted to for a long while, actually,» Elide said, biting her lip. «I think you’re beautiful."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Manon couldn’t help but smile a little, and truth be told, she wanted nothing more than to break into song. For both’s sake, she didn’t. «I think you’re beautiful, too,» she whispered, fully grinning this time.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Elide grinned right back, a snowflake catching in one of her eyelashes. «Figured,» was all she said, eyes shining with amusement.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At that, Manon found herself bursting into laughter for the first time in a whole year. It was ridiculous, all of it. Here she had been, terrified to talk to this girl, instead admiring her from afar for <em>way </em>too long, and now she was asking her on a date, and Manon felt so happy, and light, and- </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She couldn’t stop laughing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">«Is that a yes, then?» Elide asked at last, looking slightly worried. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Wiping away a few tears, Manon nodded. «Please, lead the way.»</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And the moment Elide took her hand, Manon felt hope bloom inside her. Like flowers in the spring, bright with color and life.</span>
</p>
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